Tom E. Walters Photographic Collection, 1942-1991

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Summary

Creator:
Walters, Tom E.
Abstract:

The collection chiefly consists of both black-and-white and color photographic negatives of various formats taken by white photographer Tom E. Walters while on assignment for The Charlotte News and The Charlotte Observer (1950s-1960s), and during his career as a self-employed advertising photographer (1960s-1990s) based in Charlotte, N.C. Also contained in the collection are approximately 1,000 photographic prints, including the images Walters entered into the Annual National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Competition for the years 1958 through 1962. In addition to Walters' photographic prints are tear sheets, magazines, and various other print materials featuring Walters' images. Also included are printed materials, correspondence, and log books related to the operation of his photographic studio. Earlier materials primarily depict news and political events including civil rights sit-ins in 1958 and 1961, numerous North Carolina and United States politicians, and famous musicians and entertainers. Later materials feature regional businesses and organizations such as North Carolina National Bank (NCNB), Charlotte Country Day School (CCDS), the Mint Museum of Art, and Pentes Design. Notable individuals depicted in the collection include North Carolina Governor Luther Hodges, Jack Pentes, Bones McKinney, Harry Golden, and Carl Sandburg.

Extent:
54,000 items (19.0 linear feet)
Language:
Materials in English
Library Catalog Link:
View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

Tom E. Walters, Jr. (1930-1992) was a news and commercial photographer from 1955-1991 based in Charlotte, N.C. He received his first camera at the age of twelve, after turning a camera in to a lost and found and being given the camera when it was not claimed. His interest in photography grew during his high school and college years as he worked on student newsletters, newspapers, and the yearbook. In 1953, Walters gained employment at the Charlotte Engraving Company as a continuous tone photographer, where he learned different methods and techniques that he would later apply to his craft. He became a news photographer in 1955 through Tom Franklin's Studio, which was contracted to photograph stories for the Charlotte News as they lacked an official photography department. He entered a competition in 1957 held by the Carolina Press and Photographers Association through the Short Course at Chapel Hill, and won "Southern Photographer of the Year," an award he went on to win again in 1958. Believing that his career would benefit from a full-time position as a news photographer, Walters accepted a position with the Charlotte Observer in 1957. In 1959, he entered the 16th Annual National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Competition, and won first place in the "Portraits and Personalities" category. The recognition he gained from entering these competitions allowed him to attend the University of Missouri's workshop in photojournalism, where he honed his craft. Walters decided there was more freedom in magazine photography, and in 1961 he began "Carolina Illustrated" with Bruce Roberts, catering to businesses for advertisements and in-house publications and marking the beginning of his self-employment. In the 1970s Walters changed the name of the studio to "Tom Walters Photgraphy." His images appear in National Geographic , People, Life , Mademoiselle , Forbes , and other nationally-recognized magazines. Walters' work was the first exhibit of photographs by a single photographer at the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, N.C. in 1968, and the show toured the region the following year. This exhibit influenced the development of the Light Factory, which began as a group of professional and amateur photographers (of which Walters was a member) interested in promoting photography as an art form. This idea first manifested itself as the volunteer-run "Imprints" gallery, which hosted shows, provided memberships, auctions of prints, critiques of portfolios, and meetings to discuss photography. In 1987, Walters closed Tom Walters Photography studio, but continued his business from home until his death on January 4, 1992.

Scope and content:

The collection chiefly consists of both black-and-white and color photographic negatives of various formats taken by white photographer Tom E. Walters while on assignment for The Charlotte News and The Charlotte Observer (1950s-1960s), and during his career as a self-employed advertising photographer (1960s-1990s) based in Charlotte, N.C. Also contained in the collection are approximately 1,000 photographic prints, including the images that Walters entered into the Annual National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Competition for the years 1958 through 1962. In addition to Walters' photographic prints are tear sheets (printed examples of his work), magazines, and various other print materials featuring Walters' images. Also included are printed materials, correspondence, and log books related to the operation of his photographic studio. Earlier materials primarily depict news and political events including civil rights sit-ins in 1958 and 1961, numerous North Carolina and United States politicians, and famous musicians and entertainers. Later materials feature regional businesses and organizations such as North Carolina National Bank (NCNB), Charlotte Country Day School (CCDS), the Mint Museum of Art, and Pentes Design. Notable individuals depicted in the collection include North Carolina Governor Luther Hodges, Jack Pentes, Bones McKinney, Harry Golden, and Carl Sandburg. Also included are numerous images featuring the Land of Oz amusement park in Beech Mountain, N.C., including location scouting, costume design, and the functioning park.

Acquisition information:

Received from Ben Walters, in the summer of 2014.

Processing information:

Processed by: Jessica Rayman, with assistance from Patrick Cullom, August 2016

Encoded by: Jessica Rayman, August 2016

Updated by: Nancy Kaiser, February 2021; Patrick Cullom, September 2021

Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.

Sensitive materials statement:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Advertising--Photographs.
Festivals--North Carolina--Photographs.
Photographers--North Carolina.
Names:
American Society of Media Photographers--Photographs.
Charlotte Country Day School--Photographs.
Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, N.C.)--Photographs.
Duke Power Company--Photographs.
Land of Oz (Beech Mountain, N.C.)--Photographs.
The Light Factory (Charlotte, N.C.)--Photographs.
Mint Museum of Art (Charlotte, N.C.)--Photographs.
Missouri Photo Workshop--Photographs.
National Press Photographers Association (U.S.)--Photographs.
North Carolina National Bank--Photographs.
Queens College (Charlotte, N.C.)--Photographs.
Red Clay Reader--Photographs.
South Carolina Electric and Gas Company--Photographs.
Saint Martin's Episcopal Church (Charlotte, N.C.)--Photographs.
Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971--Photographs.
Cosby, Bill, 1937- --Photographs.
Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974--Photographs.
Golden, Harry, 1902-1981--Photographs.
Grace, Daddy, 1882?-1960--Photographs.
Hodges, Luther Hartwell, 1898-1974--Photographs.
Johnson, Lady Bird, 1912-2007--Photographs.
Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973--Photographs.
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963--Photographs.
McKinney, Bones, 1919-1997--Photographs.
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994--Photographs.
Sandburg, Carl, 1878-1967--Photographs.
Places:
Charlotte (N.C.)--Photographs.
Mecklenburg County (N.C.)--Photographs.
North Carolina--Photographs.
Rock Hill (S.C.)--Photographs.
Rocky Mount (N.C.)--Photographs.
South Carolina--Photographs.

Access and use

Restrictions to access:

Use of audiovisual materials may require production of viewing copies.

Restrictions to use:

Copyright is retained by the North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Tom E. Walters Photographic Collection #P0106, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu